Jeff and Sharon Allyn were delighted when this succulent they’ve been nurturing in their backyard, bloomed for the first time this year in brilliant blooms of deep red. We tend to love succulents partly because they do so well in our drought, but this proves a little winter rain can do wonders for them. The Allyns say the plant is about 6 inches in diameter.

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Joan Morris is the pets & wildlife columnist for the Bay Area News Group. She also writes about gardening and is the founder of Our Garden, a demonstration garden in Walnut Creek. Morris started her career in 1978 as a reporter for a small New Mexico newspaper. She has lived in the Bay Area since 1988.